FARMINGTON -- Bentonville West will enjoy spring break a bit more this week after winning the Farmington Invitational.
West slammed four home runs in the first two innings and defeated Farmington 8-2 Saturday in the championship game at the Lady Cardinals' field. Play was called in the fourth inning because of a 70-minute time limit.
The game matched teams that finished as runners-ups in state championship games last spring. But West was the dominant team Saturday starting in the first inning when Ryen Rassi lined a drive over the left-field wall for a three-run home run. The blast followed a walk and a three-base error that eluded the Farmington right fielder.
West added three more home runs in the second inning to take an 8-0 lead. Alyssa Cordell a hit home run followed by two-run shots from Honesty Holt and Emily Roberson.
"We're trying to hit the ball hard every time up," Bentonville West coach Anthony Cantrell said. "We've got kids swinging it pretty good, 1-through-9. If it goes out of the ballpark, it goes out of the ballpark."
Freshman Grace Boatwright hit a two-run home for Farmington, which beat Fayetteville 9-1 and Gravette 3-2 on Saturday to advance to the finals. Bentonville West advanced with an 8-4 win over North Little Rock in a semifinal game.
"We played really good defense and pitched it really well this weekend," said Cantrell, whose team won four consecutive games in the tournament. "Randy (Osnes) does a great job putting this tournament on, and we got to play some good teams. He has a good team with Farmington. We just caught them on a good day for us."
The 12-team, two-day tournament began on Friday with 7-inning games and concluded on Saturday when play was limited to 70 minutes.
The Lady Cardinals (8-2) return to 4A-1 Conference action at Gravette on March 26. West (7-0) hosts Rogers in 6A-West Conference action on March 26.
Farmington^0^0^0^2^--^2^3^2
Bentonville West^3^5^0^X--^8^7^0
Bogan, Cassell and Reed; Sokolsky and Rassi. W -- Sokolsky. L -- Bogan. HRs -- Rassi, Holt, Cordell, Roberson, Boatwright.
Sports on 03/17/2019